Prepositions — Parts of Speech
What Is It?
A preposition links a noun (or pronoun) to another element, showing relationship in space, time, or logic.
Canonical pattern: Preposition → Noun Phrase.
Why Use Prepositions?
- Structure – wires clauses together (“on failure,” “after deploy”).
- Clarity – prevents ambiguity in parameters (“size in bytes”).
- Flow – varies sentence openings (“With Docker, …”).
- Precision – pinpoints location/time in diagrams.
When to Choose Prepositions
- API parameter docs (“limit per page”).
- Architecture diagrams captions.
- Cron schedule explanations (“at 04:00 on weekdays”).
Forming Preposition Sentences
| Relation | Formula | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Time | Prep + N | at midnight |
| Place | Prep + N | inside the container |
| Cause | Prep + N | due to timeout |
Tips for Writing with Prepositions
- Avoid ending multi-line titles with a preposition.
- Use one preposition per construction (“between client and server,” not “between client and between server”).
- Pick domain-specific pairs (“auth via OAuth”).
- Drop redundant preps (“outside of” → “outside”).
- Check phrasal verbs that wrap prepositions (“log in,” “sign up”).
Exceptions & Nuances
Legal and academic docs may preserve sentence-final prepositions for natural tone.